Gateway drug
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The term gateway drug is used to describe a lower classed drug that can lead to the use of "harder", more dangerous drugs. The term is also used to describe introductory experiences to "addictive" experiences.
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[edit] Drug-related usage
The term is often used by governments, pressure groups and the media to describe the scientifically controversial concept that illegal drug use is a continuum. According to this concept, using one "soft" non- or only slightly addictive drug will lead to the use of other "harder" drugs and the associated criminal and social consequences – the first drug used is thus described as a gateway to further abuse.
Cigarettes along with alcohol and marijuana are considered a “gateway drug.” A 1994 report from the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University states that there is a consistent relationship between the use of cigarettes and alcohol and the subsequent use of marijuana. Cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana use and the subsequent use of illicit drugs like cocaine is also linked, regardless of the age, sex, ethnicity or race of the individuals involved. Children 12 to 17 years old who smoke are nineteen times more likely to use cocaine. The 1994 report also found that the younger children are when they use these gateway drugs and the more often they use them, the more likely they are to use cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens and other illicit drugs. The report concludes that the data is already robust enough to make a strong case to step up efforts to prevent childhood use of cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana and to take firm steps to reduce children’s access to these gateway drugs.[1]
People who abuse drugs are likely to be cigarette smokers also. More than two-thirds of drug abusers are regular tobacco smokers, a rate more than double of that in the general population. NIDA researchers have found that craving for nicotine also increases craving for illicit drugs among drug abusers who smoke tobacco, and this suggests that smokers in drug rehabilitation programs may be less successful than nonsmokers in staying off drugs.[2]
Some research suggests that serious drug abusers adopt an atypical drug use sequence with use of other drugs initiated before marijuana or alcohol.[3] There are many pharmacological similarities between various drugs of abuse. Individual social histories show that "hard" drug users do progress from one drug to another, but the drives behind this are not clear enough to generalise a gateway.[1] Furthermore, some "hard" drugs, such as alcohol, may be legal, while other "soft" drugs, such as marijuana, may be illegal.
In 1998, a French scientific report, led by Dr. Pierre-Bernard Roques from the INSERM-CNRS, classed different types of drugs according to their lethality and addictiveness. Heroin, cocaine and alcohol were classed in the most addictive and lethal category; benzodiazepine, hallucinogens and tobacco in the medium category; and marijuana in the last category. Health secretary Bernard Kouchner, founder of Médecins Sans Frontières, declared that: "Scientifical facts show that, for cannabis, no neurotoxicity is demonstrated, to the contrary of alcohol and cocaine." [2] [3] [4] [5]
While physiological and neurological evidence may be lacking, some argue that there are sociological factors that lead to a gateway phenomenon, since people who have bought illegal soft drugs have made connections to dealers who may also sell illegal hard drugs. While dealers and buyers may find less legal reasons to stay away from hard drugs when hard drugs are legally treated not much differently from what they are already involved with, they may still decide to stay away from hard drugs nevertheless because of their concerns for their own health.
The continuum concept has been used to argue that all illegal drugs should be treated in the same manner under the law, rather than there being different penalties based on some division by each drug's dangers. With the gateway concept, all illegal drugs are equally iniquitous, to convict a user at an "early stage" of their progression is more beneficial than waiting until they have progressed to other drugs. It is also used to discourage the use of illegal but low addiction potential drugs like cannabis, which could theoretically lead to more dangerous drugs like cocaine, heroin, or methamphetamine.
Because much of the legality of a drug is political, the scope continuum concept is limited as it often does not extend into the realm of legal drugs. For instance, tobacco (which is known to have a higher abuse potential than many hard drugs) and alcohol are arguably gateway drugs, although they are not traditionally regarded as such. Also, ritalin, adderall, and caffeine could be called gateway drugs since they build tolerance for stimulants, usually at a young age (as most people are exposed to caffeine or prescribed ritalin or adderall at a young age).
[edit] References
- ^ [Betty Ford Center] – Dr. James West Public Q&A Page. URL Accessed October, 2006
- ^ [The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the NIH, a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.] – Nicotine Craving and Heavy Smoking May Contribute to Increased Use of Cocaine and Heroin – Patrick Zickler, NIDA NOTES Staff Writer. URL Accessed October, 2006
- ^ Mackesy-Amiti ME, Fendrich M, Goldstein PJ (1997). "Sequence of drug use among serious drug users: typical vs atypical progression.". Drug and alcohol dependence.
